How Educators Get Rich…

There is something so refreshing about the fall semester at NDSU. It is the beginning of a brand new year with many new faces – students, staff, and faculty. It is also a chance to catch back up with those I have not had an opportunity to see all summer. It is a homecoming of sorts – but better. There is a promise at the outset of each semester of the potential of the journey; and, each year that journey is filled with different twists and turns.

I am excited to see where the journey will lead me this year. I am excited to get the opportunity to meet a group of new students in my classes while still seeing familiar friendly faces peppered throughout. I am excited to get back to the dialogue that is the thread that they will carry with them beyond their studies and into their professional careers.

I love my job. I love my students. I love my field. While I am always happy to have the summer off to relax and regroup, I miss the part of my life that is tied to the energy and enthusiasm of the future. That is what my students are – the future of emergency management.

There is a saying that goes something like this: Those who cannot do – teach. I beg to differ. Here is what should be said of those committed to teaching: Those who teach realize how much more they can ultimately do by teaching.

Teaching may not be the best paying career from a monetary perspective, but it is where one becomes the richest. There are some things that are worth more than money (that is not to say that I don’t support increasing the salaries of educators) – we all may need money to live, but to live a truly fulfilled life we need to know that we contribute to society’s well-being. Therein lies the real riches for educators – we invest in others and the dividends we get in return are the knowledge that we were able to help build futures – one student at a time. As I said, I love my job.

Where will the journey take me this year? I am not sure – but I will keep you posted. 😉

Day one thousand one hundred and forty-one of the new forty – obla di obla da

ABOUT

Hi, I am Ms. C.

I teach at NDSU...but I remain a student of life with all the enthusiasm that entails. My favorite saying is, "Sometimes you have to take the leap and build your wings on the way down." In the new forty that is what I am doing - building my wings. Please feel free to join me.